Eksistensi Tokoh Perempuan Jawa dalam Novel Nonik Jamu karya Rina Suryakusuma: Sebuah Kajian Feminisme Eksistensialis Simone De Beauvoir

Mutiara Reza Vitroh (Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra Indonesia, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Muhammadiyah Purworejo, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia)
Kadaryati (Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra Indonesia, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Muhammadiyah Purworejo, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia)
Bagiya (Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra Indonesia, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Muhammadiyah Purworejo, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia)

Fon: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra Indonesia
Vol 22 No 2 (2026)

This study aims to analyze the existence of Javanese female characters in the novel Nonik Jamu by Rina Suryakusuma through the lens of Simone de Beauvoir’s existentialist feminism. The analysis focuses on two main aspects: first, how women are positioned as the Other within the patriarchal structure of Javanese culture; second, how the female protagonist, particularly Kinanti, asserts her existence through Beauvoir’s three existential strategies: working, becoming an intellectual, and initiating social transformation. This research employs a qualitative descriptive method with content analysis techniques on narrative excerpts that reflect gender inequality and the struggles of female characters in the novel. The results reveal that the women in the story are not merely portrayed as victims of patriarchy, but as active subjects who build awareness, claim autonomy, and challenge traditional constraints. Beauvoir’s existential strategies prove relevant for understanding the transcendence of Javanese women toward an authentic life. The findings of this study are expected to enrich feminist literary studies in Indonesia and serve as a reference for literature learning that applies gender and existentialist perspectives.